Dallas Stars Shut Down VGK, 1-0, Win West Finals Opener Sunday
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights learned an important lesson in Game 1 of the NHL West Finals.
The Dallas Stars are a cut above the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks in competition.
The Stars, fresh off defeating a strong Colorado Avalanche squad in Game 7 two days ago, controlled most of the play against the VGK en route to a 1-0 win over the top-seeded Golden Knights.
During the first half of the game, Dallas had 16 shots on goal to Vegas’ nine and led 1-0 from a goal on its first shot on VGK netminder Marc-Andre Fleury about three minutes into the game. John Klingberg, a Dallas defenseman, scooped up a puck in the slot and wristed a shot past Fleury, starting in Game 1 for Robin Lehner.
The Stars had 21 shots on goal to only 10 for VGK with four minutes left in period two. By the end of the period, the Knights were outshot 23-12 after dominating that category against the Blackhawks and Canucks in the first two rounds.
The Knights generated little offense in the first two periods. Coach Pete DeBoer even pieced together an American-born line of Alex Tuch, Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty in period two to spark some offense.
Dallas was more physical with Vegas than both Chicago and Vancouver. Knights forward Reilly Smith, for example, absorbed a hard-hitting check before he skated to the bench mid-way through period two.
The Stars were 5-1 after leading after two periods in the playoffs. They slowed down the VGK big-time in the neutral zone between the two blue lines.
The Knights had a power play to start the third period, but were stymied. And the Knights’ offense never took off.
Dallas netminder Anton Khudobin was rock solid turning away every VGK shot.
VGK vs Dallas Game 2 is Tuesday.
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